The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1887-07-21
What May be Accomplished by Energy
and Perseverance. -..

Col. H. ". Pinckney, in Dirie,
newspaper published at Atlanta,
Georgia, relates the following in
cidents, which came under the writer's
own observation, where success trod
closely on the heel Of perseverance
and industry:
4 man can make living, and also
make money, in hundreds Of different
ways in this country, and it is a
mighty good thing that it is so, else
over-production would be the rule,
not the exception. I know a man
who is getting rich out of baby
swings. It's a simple, cheap thing
to make, and he started in simple
and cheap way to make them, his
entire outfit of tools comprising two
saws, two saw benches, draw shave,
two hand planes, brace and some
bits, rough work bench. He didn't
stand around with hands in his pock-
cts waiting for somebody with cap
ital to come along and boost him.
Not much. He thought these swings
would sell, so lie made one and ped
died it around until he found pur.
chaser. Then he made another and
sold that, aud thus ne kept on until
finally people began to think his
swings were good thing TO have in
the family, and they began to inquire
for them. He started eight years
ago, ana did all the work of making
and selling them. Things with him
are very different to day. He has
shop two stories in height, and ma
chinery Tor saving, planning, boring,
mortising, turning, and sandpapering
the material entering into the con-
struction Of these swings. In that
shop forty men find constant employ
ment, and, as I said before, the
owner is getting rich out of it.
Counting the wives and children of.
the workmen in that shop, there is
population of nearly or quiterone
hundred and fifty making a living
out Of one mans idea that a baby
swing would sell. A baby swing is
not very big thing, but it is in this
case big enough to keep quite little
village busy and comfortable.
A step ladder is mighty handy
thing to have around the house.
Five years ago three men, by the
closest kind Of scraping, twisting,
and borrowing managed to get to-
gether FIVE hundred dollars. They
bought some lumber, rugged up a
circular, or buzz, rip saw, and started
in to make step ladders. For two
years it was a struggle of the hardest
kind; sales had to be made by per-
sonaI canvass, prices obtained per-
mitted no margin of profit, and the
outlook was Of such a discouraging
nature that their friends and neigh
bors pitied them first, then prophesied
dead failure, and finally laughed at
their folly in sticking by losing
game. There came a change, how
ever. A prominent house-furnishing
goods firm one day wrote them for
prices on FIVE thousand ladders. The
size of this possible order very
nearly took them off their feet. They
hal sense enough, however, to un-
derstand that this big house would
not give them the order unless prices
were made away down, so they sat
down and figured the thing over, and
having decided that matter, awaited
the result, which turned in their favor
and they got the order. Then they
went to work; each one took-his coat
OF ond pitched in; they worked six
teen hours a day until that order was
filed, and it was filed on time, and
each ladder was honestly made. The
only expense they realized was for
lumber, screws, and paint. They
had done all the work themselves.
Ihls was the turning point in their
business career. Within month
from the delivery Of these five thou
sand ladders they had contracted
with the same house for monthly
supply of two thousand FIVE hundred:
They were on their feet now, and
began to push things. They are
turning out to-day, with fifteen men,
ten thousand step ladders each
month, and have been doing this for
more than a year. A step ladder is
s little thing, but these men are max.
ing money out of them.
About fifteen years ago, in one Of
the Big planning mills in Chicago, a
strip Of board catching, in some un-
accountable manner, on buzz saw,
vas hurled with violence against the
leg Of one Of the workmen, BREAKING
1t and badly mangling the flesh. The
injury resulted in incapacitating the